The concept is similar to another new restaurant, but "I was doing it years before Blaze," said James Markham, founder and CEO of Project Pie.

Las Vegas, San Diego and Indianapolis finally have something in common. Unfortunately, it's not weather. Later this year, a build-your-own pizza venture called Project Pie will open a new location here in Naptown, making Indy the franchise's third domestic destination, along with the Vegas Strip and the San Diego area.

With a business model similar to Blaze Pizza, the build-your-own 'za joint that opened at 913 Indiana Ave. in February, Project Pie will offer customers the chance to custom-build artisan-quality pizzas. And, just like Blaze, the pizzas are fired in a high-temperature, stone-hearth oven and served to guests within five minutes.

"I was doing it years before Blaze," said James Markham, founder and CEO of Project Pie. In 2011, Markham claims representatives from Blaze Pizza came into Markham's Pieology restaurant in Fullerton, Calif., and adopted his use of the fast-fire cooking method, his two-piece box design and assembly-line style of pizza customization. Project Pie is the franchised version of Pieology and Markham's other restaurant, Seattle's MOD Pizza. "I find it flattering that (Blaze) wanted to copy me," said Markham.

Jim Mizes, president and COO of Blaze, said that's not the case. Mizes said that Rick Wetzel and Bill Phelps, creators of Wetzel's Pretzels, were out looking for a good pizza place one day. "They couldn't find one, and they ended up at an assembly burrito shop that starts with a 'C,' " said Mizes, referring to Chipotle. The pretzel prodigies wanted to use the concept in the pizza biz, and Blaze was born.

Mizes did, however, admit that during the early stages of the fast-fire franchise's conception, Wetzel and Phelps looked at all quick-service restaurant competitors, including Pieology.

"What makes Blaze stand out is that we have the highest-quality dough and sauce," said Mizes.

Luke Angermeier, a local entrepreneur who will own the Project Pie in Indianapolis, believes the same about his franchises, saying they will offer "a higher-quality product."

Angermeier said that while they haven't finalized the purchase of the land, the first Project Pie location will open near the East 96th Street Meijer.

"When you come into Project Pie, the whole brand, the personality, it's me," said Markham. "Our competition hires people to create their environment and their vibe. I'm a very transparent guy. Authenticity is our number one thing."

Call Michael Anthony Adams at (317) 444-6123 and follow him on Twitter: @MichaelAdams317.